


The Sea, The Sky

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Anime Appearances, Bonding, Canon Compliant, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Disagreement, Discovery of Powers, F/F, Headcanon, Mentions of Neglectful Family, Prequel, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 06:29:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18440948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Their destinies had become one, that much was obvious from their first meeting. Now they just have to get along in order to train, something neither of them are eager to do. Michiru is a snobby and shy violinist who dreams of making enough money to just move out of her overbearing aunt's place, and Haruka is an enigma who dislikes and craves attention simultaneously. Michiru isn't sure she'll ever figure her out. Even their shared identities as Senshi does little to close the gap between them. The more time they spend together, however, the more it's become obvious to the both of them that they are starting to fall in love.Serves as a semi-prequel of sorts to the anime seriesAlso on FanFiction.net





	The Sea, The Sky

#############

Haruka never expected to see the girl the first time, let alone a second time. Yet, there she was, holding her schoolbag in her uniform and looking determined to not let Haruka by until she answered whatever question she had.

"What do you want? Wasn't seeing me once enough? That was already too crazy of a night for me, and I'm not in the mood to repeat it, so just state your business with me and be on your way!" Haruka snapped at her, and to her surprise, the girl didn't even flinch. "What did you say your name was? Michiru? Will you go away if I call you that?"

"Haruka-san, please hear me out!" The girl-Michiru-stated calmly. If she was trying to sound desperate, there was no hint of it in her voice. "Ever since you awoke as a Senshi, I feel like it's my job to guard you and train you..." She trailed off and suddenly looked away. "I mean, you don't even know what your powers are or how strong they are, and I don't want to risk you accidentally blowing something up!"

"So you're just here for training? Okay, then let's get it over with." Haruka motioned to the fields behind her.

"No, there's more than that..." Michiru looked away again. Haruka waited for her to finish, but there didn't seem to be anything else, so she sighed and tried to get past her. "I want to spend more time with you and get to know you better too..." Michiru finally finished. "After all, there's more to a Senshi than just her soldier side, plus you're the only other Senshi I know! For the longest time, I thought I was all alone...and then you awoke..." She started chewing on her thumbnail a bit.

"I don't see anything wrong with us hanging out, but don't expect some sort of love confession or anything!" Haruka snapped again. Michiru nodded.

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I just admire you and want you to get stronger as a Senshi..." The wind suddenly gusted and blew her hair in her face. Her sky-blue ribbon suddenly blew out of her hair, blowing more into her face and making her gasp. "Oh no, my ribbon!"

"I'll get it for you!" Haruka said, taking off after it. She jumped into the air and plucked it right out of the sky, then ran back over to Michiru and handed it to her.

"My heroine!" She laughed, pinning her hair back with it. Haruka blushed a bit and quickly looked away. "So, do you want to hang out with me today? We could go out to eat, or take a walk in the park or something."

"I guess, but you're picking what we're doing." Haruka shrugged. She still couldn't believe such a prestigious girl wanted to hang out with her, even if they both were Senshi or whatever.

"Great! Why don't we go out to eat?" Michiru said happily. Haruka shrugged again.

"Alright. I'm driving you there though."

"Perfect, I've always wanted to ride in your car!"

"I didn't say it was going to be a car."

#########

"Will you please slow down or something! I bet this speed is illegal on this road! Stop it! I mean it!" Michiru screamed, holding onto Haruka tightly for practically her life. Haruka knew she would be fine since she had a helmet on, although it was pretty big on her. Haruka also knew that if she relaxed a bit, she would learn that riding on a motorcycle is one of the best things one could do. She smiled a bit when she saw her favorite part of the road coming up.

"You should hold on tightly!" She teased, then drove the motorcycle onto a ramp. She sped it up even more and managed to jump off of the ramp and swirl around on the road once she touched it again. She spun the motorcycle around once more, then quickly pulled it off to the side and took her helmet off. "Now, wasn't that fun?" She laughed. Michiru ripped off her helmet and practically threw it at Haruka. At first she thought she was upset with her, then she saw Michiru's green cheeks and watched as the pretty and graceful thirteen-year-old proceeded to hurl her guts out all over the street. It was the color of shrimp and smelled pretty foul, but Haruka was more amazed at the action itself. Here she had one of the most popular girls at her own school, the one she claimed was worshiped like a goddess, and here she was puking. Haruka wasn't quite sure how to deal with it, so she held Michiru's long hair back for her so it wouldn't get messy.

After several minutes of it, Michiru finally seemed to be empty, although she couldn't stop shaking. She briefly looked over at Haruka, then looked back down. "I'm sorry..." She could barely say. She managed to wipe her mouth off, and that small act was a large step in recovering her former grace. "It was my first motorcycle ride, so you can probably imagine my reaction makes sense..." She kept shaking, then coughed. "My throat hurts..."

"Let's not go out to eat, let's go to the park instead!" Haruka suddenly suggested. "We can get some water there, and I'll even buy you a cab or something if you don't want to ride my bike back." She quickly got off her vehicle. Michiru giggled, then exploded into coughing again. "See? You need water." She took Michiru's hand and helped her off the bike, then looked around to see where they were. "The park's not far from here, so we lucked out! Come on!" She pulled Michiru along with her, not listening to anything the younger girl had to say. She ran all the way to the park, forgetting after a while that she had someone else in tow. When they finally got there, Michiru looked ready to collapse.

"How fast...can...you...run...?" She breathed. "I could...never...catch...up... to...someone like you..." She struggled to smile.

"Be quiet! I still need to get you some water!" Haruka snapped at her. Once again, Michiru didn't flinch at her tone and instead took her hands off her chest and let go of her.

"The park is really beautiful this time of day, don't you think? Lots of couples and families here." Michiru said nicely. She sighed a bit. Haruka led her over to a bench and sat her down on it.

"Don't move, I'm going to get you some water." Haruka directed.

"Where would I go?" Michiru teased, flipping her hair. Haruka rolled her eyes at her and ran off, looking for a place she could buy some water.

She eventually found a drink stall and simply threw her money down and ran back over to Michiru with a water bottle. When she got back, Michiru was still sitting on the bench, the wind blowing through her hair. Haruka tossed the water bottle at her and she caught it perfectly. She popped the cap off and took a big swig of it, but somehow no water spilled out onto her chin. She smiled afterwards.

"My throat feels a lot better now! Thank you!" She beamed. She screwed the cap back onto the water bottle. She motioned for Haruka to sit next to her, but Haruka didn't accept the invitation.

"I would offer to take you back to your place, but you clearly hate motorcycles, so that's out of the question. So I suppose I'll just call you a cab." Haruka said. It wasn't a suggestion.

"Are you even driving that thing legally? You're, what, fourteen?" Michiru asked.

"I got my license overseas!" Haruka shot back.

"So you say." She teased. She stood up. "So, what about that Sailor business? Wanna start on your training?"

"Why not." Haruka shrugged.

############

Michiru had managed to secure a secluded spot of the beach for them to practice that would have no people on it at all times. It was a pretty spacious area, with both the sand and sea going on for miles. It also had a bunch of rocks, which they had to be careful of. Michiru promptly transformed as soon as they got there.

"How did you even get this place? You have to be rich to rent places out!" Haruka said in amazement. Sailor Neptune simply smiled at her.

"There's so much you don't know about me, Haruka-san." She teased. "Now, transform! Let's see your Senshi form!" Her tone sounded excited. Haruka pulled her transformation pen out of her pocket.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to say." She shrugged. Neptune leaned on one of the rocks.

"Just say whatever comes to your mind. I don't know who your Senshi form is, so I'll be no help. Same goes for your powers." She answered calmly.

"Okay then..." She twirled the pen around in her hands for a while, trying to think of something to say. All of a sudden, it hit her, so she raised her pen into the air. "Uranus Planet Power, Makeup!" She transformed herself into Sailor Uranus. Neptune stopped leaning on her rock and stood up straight.

"You're Sailor Uranus!" She stated.

"That felt really weird..." Uranus commented, looking herself over. "My outfit looks pretty similar to yours too, except for the shoes."

"And your earring! You have one!" Neptune smiled. "It looks super strange." She slowly walked around Uranus in a circle, looking her outfit over. "I wonder if there are any other Sailor Senshi, if their outfits look like ours."

"You said we were the only two!" Uranus snapped.

"I said that's all I know, but that doesn't mean there can't be more. Only time will tell if we'll meet some or not." Neptune answered. "Now, enough talking! Let's see your attack!"

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Uranus teased, making Neptune blush a bit. She simply smiled.

"Fine! Deep Submerge!" Neptune aimed her attack at a group of rocks, and it broke them apart. Uranus looked at her in awe.

"Whatever mine is, it's not going to be that strong." She said.

"You never know until you try it. So come on. What's your attack?" Neptune pulled herself onto a nearby rock behind Uranus.

"Well, I have to think about it first..." Uranus answered.

"Take your time." Neptune shrugged. After a while, it eventually came to her again.

"World Shaking!" She aimed her attack at another group of rocks, which also broke apart. She stood up afterwards. "Wow, I guess mine is pretty strong after all! What do you think of it?" She looked back over at Neptune, whose whole face was red. She was trying to bury herself in her hands. "What's wrong?"

"Your attack...whoever is behind you when you do it can see up your skirt..." Neptune explained in embarrassment. "I didn't need to see any of that..."

"Oh..." Uranus blushed as well and struggled to pull her skirt down. Neptune looked over at the sea and gasped at the orange water.

"Wow, time really passed for us while we practiced! Look, the sun is setting!" She pointed it out to Uranus. "Isn't the sun setting over the ocean so romantic? I've always wanted to paint it."

"You should, you need a break from predicting the future." Uranus teased.

"Hmph! It made us meet, didn't it?" Neptune scoffed.

"I suppose it did." Uranus shrugged. Neptune slid off of her rock and detransformed back into her school uniform. "Wait, how am I supposed to turn back to...myself?"

"Just think about it, I guess?" Michiru laughed awkwardly. Uranus tried it and she found herself back in her own school uniform. "Hey, what do you know, I was right!" She smiled.

"Not funny!" Haruka snapped. "Oh, God, I totally forgot all about my motorcycle! I sure hope nobody's stolen it!" She ran off in a flurry before Michiru could say anything else to her.

"Like it or not, our destinies are intertwined with each other now..." She whispered to herself. A breeze blew up and played with her hair. She decided to leave as well and perhaps paint the sunset she saw that day.

#########

"Michiru! You're late coming home again! I'm sick of this routine with you!" Her aunt snapped at her as soon as she came home. "Seriously, do you see a sun anywhere in that sky? You're always coming home well after sunset, and I both worry for you and become annoyed by you! You're in eighth grade now, it's time you start acting like it!"

"I was out with a friend," Michiru answered simply.

"You have a friend now? You normally isolate yourself from people!" Her aunt said.

"This friend is special to me."

"Does she hate the world like you too?"

"Can I please go to my room now?" Michiru demanded, making her aunt stare at her in surprise. She stepped aside but managed to tug on her hair as she walked past.

"Your dinner is cold too, and I'm not heating it up for you. Let that be a lesson to you!" Her aunt snapped again, determined to have the final word. Michiru simply nodded and went into her bedroom, shutting her door quietly. She sat on her bed and sighed. She considered herself lucky to have such a spacious room with a nice view. She had a bay window that had a perfect view of both sunsets and sunrises, and if only there was an ocean view, then she would never ask for anything more.

Her aunt was nice enough to have left her dinner out on her vanity, so she picked it up and started eating it in her bed while she read a book. She found it hard to focus on her book because she kept thinking of the tips she made the other night while she performed, which were now burning a hole in her bookbag. Still, Michiru forced herself to continue reading, telling herself it still wasn't enough anyway, so she couldn't get her hopes up. She finally finished both her food and her current chapter, so she sprung out of her bed and fished the money out of her bookbag. She added the tips to her giant purse, which she had labeled 'Apartment Money'.

"Only a million yen more, and I'm outta here..." She counted to herself. If she actually did manage to buy her own place, then it would be an absolute dream come true. She hadn't known her parents, and even though her aunt meant well, she was hot-headed and acted on her temper far too often. Michiru wondered if her temper and over-protectiveness had something to do with her parents' untimely death, but she never had a chance to ask her aunt. She found herself wondering about Haruka's family and who she lived with. She shook away that thought and started day-dreaming about her apartment again. It would have an indoor pool, and a giant room that was nothing but an aquarium. She would have a closet the size of a mall, and an equally-large music room with millions of seats. She would also have a giant kitchen, and a massive bedroom, which she would share with her...wife? She shook that thought off too.

"Oh, look at the time! Time to go to bed!" She announced to herself, and laughed at her thoughts. She quickly brushed her hair and teeth, and put on her usual pajamas. It was a silk pair of purple shorts and a flimsy camisole, and she tied her hair up with a lilac ribbon. She turned off her lamp and jumped into bed, ignoring her empty plate. She just put it back on her vanity and figured if her aunt didn't deal with it, she could deal with it before school the next day. Before she fully realized it, she had fallen asleep.

##########

Haruka ran into Michiru once more at the end of her school day, and this time, she simply rolled her eyes at her. "How do you even know what school I go to?" She demanded.

"I have my ways." Michiru answered simply. "Wanna hang out with me today?"

"Are we training today?"

"No, just hanging out today. I'm thinking a diner, how about you?" Michiru smiled and hung her head. Haruka shrugged.

"Okay, but since you seem to be the richest of us, you're paying for us." Haruka directed. Michiru pretended to be offended.

"How rude! It's always the man who offers to pay for the woman!" Michiru snapped jokingly.

"Hey, stop that! We're not even friends yet!" Haruka snapped back.

"Seriously? I thought we were friends."

"We barely know each other!"

"Also, I'm not rich at all."

"Where do you want to eat at?"

"Anywhere's fine."

#########

And so, the two ended up going to a formal restaurant in their school uniforms. Michiru became very annoyed by it. "Your sense of humor is dreadful," She scolded.

"You said anywhere you wanted, so I picked for you." Haruka teased.

"We look so out of place here, Haruka-san! People are staring at us, and I don't like it!" Michiru whispered.

"They're staring at us because we look so good! They're probably wondering who the lovely couple on a date is!" Both of them blushed at this and looked away.

"We can't date, we're both girls!" Michiru snapped. She tried to calm herself down by looking at the menu. "All of this stuff is super fancy and really expensive..."

"You can afford it, right?" Haruka asked nervously.

"Normally, but I can only afford maybe one thing today with the money in my pocket." Michiru answered.

"Oh, so you admit to being rich."

"My aunt's rich, not me. I mean, I guess I am, but I'm saving that money up."

"For what?"

"My own place. I'm sick of my overprotective aunt. It's a lot, so I'd have a lot of options." She explained, flipping her hair.

"Your own place? How'd you make all that money?" Haruka asked in awe.

"Mainly by tips I get while playing my violin in various locations. I also sell a few good paintings of mine, but those aren't as profitable." Michiru went back to scanning the menu again. "We're not old enough to drink any of this!" Her scolding nature came back into her voice.

"We'll just order water then. Besides, they don't know we're both in eighth grade! I bet you're really amusing drunk!" Haruka laughed. Michiru glared at her. A waiter came over to their table.

"Have you two decided on anything yet?" He asked politely. "Or are you going to send me away for the third time...?"

"No, we've decided!" Michiru quickly answered. "We'll both have miso soup and udon!"

"And what to drink? You two look too young for most of our drinks..."

"Nonsense! We're both twenty!" Michiru exclaimed with a sweet tone in her voice. "We just like the way these uniforms look on us, we're cosplayers! We'll both have red wine!" She ordered in a rush, then practically threw their menus at him. "Don't take too long in preparing it!" She winked. The waiter sighed wearily and went away. Haruka's eyes nearly jumped out at her.

"What the hell was all that?" She demanded.

"Just me turning on the charm. I'm very charismatic in that way. Besides, I bet you're also very amusing when you're drunk." Michiru teased.

The two sat in silence for a while, only talking when their food finally arrived. Michiru was the first to pick up her goblet.

"I've never had alcohol before, what do you think it's like?" She asked in genuine curiosity. Haruka could only shrug at her. "Let's drink it together! On the count of three! One...two...three!" They both took quick gulps of their wine, swallowing half of the goblet. They both spit it out into their napkins.

"It's so bitter-tasting! People actually drink this for fun?" Haruka said in shock.

"It's an acquired taste..." Michiru wiped her mouth off.

"We should never do that again." Haruka suggested.

"Agreed." Instead they picked up their spoons and started eating their miso soup. Both managed to slurp it quite nosily, which made people look over at them again.

"People are staring at us again, Haruka-san." Michiru said nervously.

"They're wondering why we're not kissing yet." Haruka grinned, and the two blushed deeply and looked down at their bowls.

"I don't feel very hungry anymore..." Michiru stated.

"Me neither..." Haruka looked up at her. "How about we wrap the food up? No point in letting it go to waste." Michiru nodded and called their waiter back over to their table.

"We want all of our food to go!" She demanded. He nodded, left, and came back after a while with a special tray to pack their food up in. They did so, paid for both the food and their tip, and bolted out of there.

They didn't really stop running until they reached a nearby playground, and at that point they had also started laughing. "Never take me there again for as long as you live!" Michiru tried to scold and failed.

"Hey, there's an ice cream stall here! Want some? Of course you do, what kind of pretty girl doesn't love ice cream?" Haruka said, running over to it. "What's your favorite flavor?"

Michiru walked over to her. "I love all flavors, so I'll let you pick." She sighed.

"Be careful, otherwise I'd get you pineapple-lime ice cream!"

"Or red bean paste with fermented soybeans!" They both started giggling.

"I hate fermented soybeans, so that ice cream flavor actually sounds really disgusting to me." Haruka stuck her tongue out in disgust. "How about two chocolate ones?"

"Works for me." Michiru paid for both of their cones, despite the fact that it was Haruka's idea, and the two girls sat on a bench nearby and started eating. They kept their tray from the previous place inbetween them.

"So, you know my least favorite food, what's yours?" Haruka asked.

"Nothing, I don't have a least favorite." Michiru grinned. "I might have delicate digestion, but I'm still not picky!"

"Then what's your favorite?"

"I really like both sushi and ice cream!"

"How childish!"

"Hey!" Michiru glared at her. "Then what's yours, Miss All-Grown Up?"

"My favorite food are salads. I always have to eat them to keep my weight in balance for my track races, so after a while I grew fond of them." Haruka explained.

"That's not too bad. I was expecting desserts."

"Oh, but I love desserts too!" Haruka suddenly gushed. "If I didn't have to run and drive so much, I would eat nothing but desserts!"

"How childish!" Michiru laughed, making Haruka glare at her. The two kept eating their ice cream quietly, only becoming alert when they heard the sound of someone screaming. "Someone's in danger!" She threw her ice cream down and ran off, seemingly forgetting all about Haruka.

"Hey, wait for me!" Haruka dropped her ice cream cone as well but grabbed their food tray and ran after her. Due to her speed, she caught up to her quickly. "Where are you going?"

"Be quiet!" Michiru snapped at her before ducking into the bushes. Haruka dove in after her and they both watched as a teenage girl was being held hostage against a tree by a spider monster.

"Now, give me your energy!" The monster demanded, sending out several green arms to wrap around the girl. She simply screamed.

"This is Senshi business! Haruka-san, transform with me!" Michiru demanded.

"Wait, I can't fight! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Haruka panicked.

"It's too late for that now, just wing it!" Michiru pulled out her pen. "Neptune Planet Power, Makeup!"

"Uranus Planet Power, Makeup!" They both transformed themselves into their Senshi forms.

"Stop right there! I'm the Senshi of the Oceans, and I'm here to charm you!" Neptune posed with a smile on her face. Uranus jumped out next to her and stood beside her, but she wasn't sure what her speech was supposed to be.

"Bothersome brats! Leave me be!" The spider had finished taking the energy of the girl and focused its attention onto Uranus and Neptune. It shot out sticky webbing onto them, which they both managed to dodge.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune called, firing her attack onto the monster. It was visibly weakened by this and fell to the ground. Neptune looked over at Uranus. "Fire your attack, and that should finish it off!" She directed.

"Right! World Shaking!" She fired her own attack at the monster, which finished it off and made it vanish. Neptune ran over to the girl, whose face was drained of color.

"Are you okay?" Neptune asked nicely, checking the girl's pulse. Uranus walked over to her and leaned over to check on her. "She's still breathing, she's just knocked out. We have to stay here and keep her safe until she wakes up."

"What if somebody sees us? And how long do you think it'll take her to wake up? We can't wait out here all night!" Uranus snapped.

"Are you saying we should just leave her here to die?" Neptune shot back, which shut Uranus up. Their loud voices made the girl stir, and some color returned to her face. "I think she's waking up!" Neptune smiled a bit. Uranus kneeled down to look at the girl.

"Where...am...I? What happened...?" The girl asked weakly, holding onto her head. "Who are you guys?"

"Don't worry, we're Sailor Senshi! We're good guys! We saved you from a monster!" Uranus explained over-excitedly.

"Wow, I think I hit my head too hard..." The girl lifted herself out of Neptune's arms and promptly ran away, leaving Neptune to glare at Uranus.

"Stupid! Nobody knows who we are! We're supposed to be in the shadows!" Neptune snapped at her.

"How are we ever going to attract other Sailor Senshi to us if we never make ourselves known? I bet right now, there's another Sailor Senshi out there, wondering if she's all alone in fighting evil." Uranus explained with a serious tone in her voice.

"Hmph! You don't have to be careless about it though!" Neptune snapped again. She dove back into the bushes and came back out in her school uniform.

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you I saved you our food from earlier?" Uranus teased, detransforming herself as well. Michiru looked over at her with a stern look in her eyes, but a small smile formed on her lips.

"It's late, we should go back home." Michiru took her half of the food out of the bag. "My aunt is going to yell at me again..."

"There's nothing you can do about it, so just hurry home and get it over with!" Haruka suggested, grabbing her food and running away before Michiru could say anything. Another breeze got kicked up and blew her hair.

"Haruka-san...I want to get to know you better..." She said to herself before heading back home.

##############

The next couple of days passed uneventfully for the two girls, since both were busy with school-work. Michiru had a violin concert coming up in a week, however, so after several days had passed, she once again was waiting for Haruka outside of her school. This time, Haruka didn't say anything to her, they just started walking together.

"Haruka-san, do you play any instruments?" Michiru asked randomly.

"I know how to play the piano a little bit. It's something my parents always insist on, and I don't like it very much as a result." Haruka shrugged.

"You should practice more often! That way, we can perform a duet!" Michiru smiled a bit. "Imagine how pretty it would sound, a violin and piano solo."

"You barely know me, and now you're suggesting doing a classical music solo? You're a strange girl, Michiru-san."

"Strangers can get together to do all kinds of solos." Michiru said hotly.

"When's the next concert, in a week? I don't think I could be ready in that amount of time."

"I have a piano at my house, why don't we practice on that? I could listen to you play a piece, and then see where you need improvement. I bet you're a lot better than you think you are." Michiru suggested in an excited tone of voice. Haruka shook her head.

"I'll do the solo with you, but I'm not going over to your house. At least, not yet. I don't think we know each other well enough for that."

"Oh? Then how about we get to know each other?" Michiru suddenly stood in front of Haruka. "Take me out somewhere today, something you like to do. I want to get to know you."

"Alright, but don't complain of boredom once we get there. I know your type, and pretty girls like you can barely stand a minute in my fast-paced world." Haruka grinned.

"Try me." Michiru challenged with a grin on her face.

###########

Michiru promptly covered up her ears the second they had arrived, already finding the place way too loud for her taste. Haruka noticed this and laughed.

"I warned you! Are you ready to go home yet?" She teased. Michiru removed her hands from her ears and put them at her sides.

"In your dreams! I'm only starting to learn about you!" She leaned over the railing to look at the cars closer. "You really want to be one of the racers down there, huh? What a romantic dream..." She sighed a bit.

"You think everything's romantic, don't you?" Haruka asked. Michiru giggled.

"I think it's a very nice outlook to have on life!" She leaned a bit further on the railing. "Do you have any favorite racers yet?"

"Honestly, not really. I've only been interested in racing and motor sports for a year now, and in my opinion, that's way too short of a time to have a favorite racer." Haruka shrugged. "How about you? Do you have any favorite violinists?"

"My answer's the same as yours!" Michiru leaned her head back to gaze up at Haruka and giggled. Haruka pretended to be offended.

"Hey, no taking my answer! Come up with your own!" She snapped jokingly. Michiru resumed her previous position and leaned even further on the railing. "Michiru-san, look out!" Haruka called, surprising Michiru and making her lose her balance. She had nearly flung herself over the railing until Haruka wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her back up. "Be more careful! You almost fell off onto the track!" She scolded. Michiru simply blushed at her touch around her waist.

"Well, I'm safe now, so..." She looked down, and Haruka blushed as well and quickly let go of her.

"I wouldn't have had to do such a thing if you were paying attention!" Haruka continued to snap at her. "Don't tell me you're air-headed too!"

"Don't worry, I'm not." Michiru said, sitting down on a nearby seat. "Maybe I'm just not the racing type."

"Do you want to go home now?" Haruka asked in a softer tone. Michiru shook her head.

"No, I want to stay here and finish watching the race." She sat up a bit higher in her seat. "It looks like that neon-green car is going to win!" They both giggled. Haruka took the seat beside Michiru and they finished watching the race together.

#########

"I can't believe I was right! The green car really did win!" Michiru beamed on their way back from the race-track.

"I didn't know you were actually paying attention! Either that, or you're physic." Haruka giggled.

"Maybe I am..." Michiru smiled slyly.

"I should buy you a present for paying so much attention! What do you want? Say it and I'll buy it." Haruka offered. They had already walked past several stores, but Michiru declined every one so far.

"How about jewelry?" Haruka asked, pointing to a jewelry store.

"Nope."

"Toys?"

"How young do you think I am?"

"Candy?"

"I'm not hungry..."

"What about some clothes?" At this, Michiru's eyes lit up.

"Of course! I love clothes! Come on, I'll even buy some for you!" She grabbed Haruka's arm and dragged her into the store with her. Michiru quickly ran over to a rack that held vintage 1950's dresses. "I think vintage clothes are the best!" She picked out a sunshine-yellow house dress with a white collar and matching belt.

"You're obsessed with fashion." Haruka teased. "The frilly girls I know aren't like you."

"Then they're not frilly girls! Everyone should care about fashion, it's what makes the world go round!" Michiru insisted. She tossed her dress to Haruka and dashed about the store, looking for other things to pair with the dress. She eventually picked out white stockings, yellow flats, several gold bracelets, a pearl necklace, and a lacy yellow ribbon to tie in her hair. She tossed them all into Haruka's arms with a smile. "How about I pick some out for you too?"

"Why are you so eager to buy me new clothes?" Haruka asked.

"That's what friends do, isn't it? They buy new clothes for each other!" Michiru said.

"Friends? When did we ever become friends? You're rushing our relationship, Michiru-san! Next you'll be telling me to not use an honorific with your name!" She snapped, making Michiru blush.

"I could never do such a thing as that! That's only for a couple who are deeply invested with each other and would even die for each other..." She looked away. "How about I buy you some girl clothes? Would you like that? I bet you'll look really cute in a skirt!" A small smile grazed her lips.

"I don't think dressing like a girl would be a good idea in my current situation..." Haruka cautioned.

"What's wrong? Afraid of the tougher racers and adoring fans finding out your true gender?" Michiru teased.

"Stop it! You know nothing about my life, and you couldn't even begin to understand it, so just stop making jokes!" Haruka suddenly snapped at her, making several people look over at them. Michiru buried her face in her hands, but she didn't start crying. "Hey, don't get upset...I'm sorry I snapped at you." Haruka apologized in a softer tone. "I really like the new style that's popular in America right now, what's it called? Grunge? Can you buy me some of those clothes?" Michiru removed her hands from her face and nodded, then started dashing around the store again, picking out clothes she thought suited Haruka.

##########

Shortly after their shopping trip, the two girls found themselves back on the beach again for more Senshi training. Their shopping bags were concealed by the mass number of rocks all around them. "Now, let's see how good your aim is! That's one of the most important parts of being a Sailor Senshi! Use your attack and break the rocks around you!" Neptune directed.

"Alright! World Shaking!" Uranus called, breaking apart the group of rocks in front of her. She did this several more times for the remaining rocks and grinned, feeling proud of herself.

"Great job!" Neptune jumped off the rock she was sitting on. "Now, let's see how you'll do in physical combat!" She suddenly charged at Uranus and punched her in her side, making her double-over and grab it. "Not very well, I see." Neptune grinned.

"Because I wasn't ready! You can't just charge at me without warning!" Uranus protested.

"So? You always have to be ready and keep your guard up in a fight. You don't know if a villain will use their powers or physical strength, so you need to keep both areas sharp." Neptune explained. "Let's go again!" She charged at Uranus and tried to punch her stomach this time, but Uranus anticipated her attack and side-stepped it, leaving Neptune to punch the air. Neptune smiled at her. "See? Now you're getting the hang of it! How about you try attacking me now?"

"Too easy! I'll have my payback for you punching me earlier!" Uranus charged at Neptune and tried punching her, but Neptune quickly jumped onto her hand and kicked Uranus away with both of her feet. She jumped back onto her feet. "No fair, you fight dirty!" Uranus protested from the ground.

"To be honest, you're actually not that bad of a fighter. You have the spirit of a warrior, which is a good thing to have, you just need to learn to channel it better." Neptune smiled.

"All the frilly girls I know would never be caught dead in a physical fight." Uranus grinned.

"Well, are they Sailor Senshi?" Neptune offered her hand to Uranus, who took it and got pulled back up to her feet. Neptune looked over at the ocean. "Practice is over for today, you look pretty worn-out."

"Because you keep beating me up!" Uranus protested. Neptune simply giggled and undid the ribbons on her shoes and carefully stepped out of them. She waded into the water and didn't stop until the water came up to her knees. She sighed happily.

"You love the water way too much, Sailor Neptune." Uranus teased, leaning on a rock.

"Of course I do, I'm the Senshi of the Oceans!" She smiled a bit. The wind picked up and blew her hair into her face, and she pushed it back. "I just feel so at peace when I'm in the water, like nothing could go wrong. I'd stay in the water forever if I could." She looked over at Uranus. "Do you have anything like that in your life that makes you feel that way?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that racing makes me feel that way. When I'm racing, I can go so fast, just like the wind." She smiled a bit. "I have a bad habit of running away from my problems, so I often want to become just like the wind. Fast, unpredictable, and wild. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, nobody to impress, just myself. That's what freedom feels like to me, and the wind is something that can truly be free. But when I race, I get that same feeling of freedom, even if it's brief."

"Uranus...you're the Senshi of the Wind!" Neptune gasped, turning to face her. "What a romantic idea, the wind embracing the sea...if we weren't both girls I'd say we were perfect for each other."

"You seem very set on the idea that two girls can't date." Uranus noticed.

"Well, do you know any girls who are dating?"

"No..."

"Exactly!" Neptune glared at her.

"Maybe we could be the first."

"Nonsense! We're both straight! At least, I'm pretty sure I am..." She thought back to a few nights ago, when she thought of sharing her apartment with her wife. So if not straight, maybe bisexual? These were thoughts she'd have to keep to herself.

"Then if girls can't date in your mind, then they also can't compliment each other." Uranus teased.

"And they can't tease each other!" Neptune scolded, wagging her finger.

"I'm going to get you back for that! Let's see if you have that same confidence when I'm done with you!" Uranus promised, throwing off her boots and running into the water after Neptune.

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Neptune laughed, running away from Uranus a bit faster than she normally would've. After a while, Uranus grew tired of chasing her, so she simply splashed up a huge wave that soaked the back of her suit. Neptune gasped and turned around to face her. "You're going to pay for that!" She teased and sent up another huge wave that slammed into Uranus' front and made the front half of her suit all wet.

"Thanks a lot, now I'm all wet!" Uranus laughed. "Look out, it's a cyclone!" She used both hands to send up a colossal wave at Neptune, which pushed her back several feet. Her hair was sticking to her face.

"I don't think so!" Neptune used her foot to kick up another massive wave that caught Uranus off-guard and knocked her over into the water. "Yes, it looks like I've won this round! That's why you never challenge a water element to a fight in their own realm!" She laughed tauntingly. Uranus sent up another massive wave of water at her, which also knocked her down into the water.

"I think I've won now!" Uranus smiled, and the two girls exploded into fits of laughter. They laughed for a while until Neptune looked over at the sinking orange sun on the horizon. She quickly got out of the water and jumped back into her shoes.

"It's gotten late, I gotta hurry home!" She exclaimed, detransforming into her school uniform and grabbing her shopping bag. She quickly waved to Uranus. "Goodbye! I'll see you tomorrow! And don't forget to come to my violin concert in a few days!" She ran off, leaving Uranus alone in the water.

She got out of the water as well and tugged on her boots. She detransformed back into her own uniform and grabbed her bag. "Friends, huh? I think I like the sound of that..." She smiled and walked back to her own place.

###########

However, Michiru wasn't waiting outside of Haruka's school that afternoon like she usually was, leaving Haruka to believe she was simply busy with something else. She decided to take herself out for some tea at a nearby cafe, and did just that. As she was drinking and enjoying the solitude, however, Michiru showed up with a gaggle of three giggling girls.

"Hey there, Haruka-san!" She greeted as if the other girls weren't there. Haruka simply glared at her.

"Who are these girls? Your friends? I thought you hated people and isolated yourself from them, which means you don't make friends!" She snapped at her. Michiru glared back at her.

"These aren't my friends, they're just girls I know at school who wouldn't leave me alone unless I brought them to meet you." She explained in a cold tone of voice.

"And how do they know you know me?"

"I implied I knew you." The three girls promptly squeezed themselves into the booth directly across from Haruka and stared at her with stars in their eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm meeting the actual Tenoh-san in real life!" A girl with pink pigtails and purple ribbons in her hair gushed.

"Yeah, we wanna know everything about you!" A girl with a brown braid and glasses insisted.

"And we're not leaving until you tell us what we want to know!" A girl with bright red hair and freckles threatened. Haruka slammed down her cup loud enough to make the saucer rattle.

"Michiru-san, did you ever consider the fact that I might hate people too? I don't feel comfortable with you parading my status around at school like this!" She stood up and snapped at Michiru. Michiru started to say something, but Haruka cut her off. "Don't bother explaining yourself, you clearly didn't think about my feelings at all. How are you ever going to expect us to be partners if you don't even consider my feelings?" She stormed out of the cafe, and Michiru simply ran after her.

"Haruka-san, wait!" She called after her. "I didn't mean for you to get so upset! It was only those three girls I told, I swear! And I thought you wanted attention!"

"So now I'm an attention-seeker to you now?" Haruka demanded, turning around to face her. Michiru simply looked down. "I don't think we should continue our training anymore. I'm going to work alone from now on." She started to leave again.

"Haruka-san!" Michiru demanded sharply. "I don't care if you don't believe me or not, but don't break up this partnership! We don't know if there are any other Sailor Senshi yet, and you're still too inexperienced to fight alone anyway!" She turned away. "But fine, do what you want, I can't stop you. After all, I'm only your partner." She walked away from Haruka at a fast pace, and eventually took off running. She didn't stop until she came to a nearby park, and leaned against a tree. "Idiot, can't you see that I want you all to myself...?" She asked herself sadly.

As she was leaning on the tree, a woman came over to her. "You look so sad, darling! Whatever could've happened to make you this way?" She asked in an overly-sweet voice. Michiru glared at her.

"It's none of your business." She stated coldly before turning away. The woman grabbed Michiru's chin and forced her to look at her.

"I believe it's very much my business, seeing how I have to take people's energy, and the energy of an upset person just won't do!" She suddenly transformed into a flower monster, making the people in the park scream and run away. Michiru's eyes widened and she tried reaching for her pen, but the monster shot vines at her and tied her up to the tree. "Now, let's see about that energy!"

Michiru ended up doing the one thing she could do at that point: scream for help.

Haruka was running through the park, trying to get her anger out through exercise when she heard somebody screaming. She ran over to the sound and gasped when she saw Michiru being attacked by a monster. Some part of her told her to walk away and leave Michiru alone as payback for what she did, but the other part told her to save her friend no matter what, and that's the part that eventually won out. She pulled out her pen and ducked behind a tree to transform.

"Come on, give me your energy!" The monster created a giant pink flower and tried attaching it to Michiru's neck to suck out her energy, but Michiru kept moving away the best she could in her restraints. "Bothersome brat! Stay still!" She formed two flowers and tried attaching them to Michiru, but before she could move, a rock was thrown at her. "Who's there?" She demanded, looking over in that direction.

"I'm the Senshi of the Wind, Sailor Uranus, and I'm here to...dazzle you...yeah..." Uranus announced nervously, stepping out of the shadows.

"Uranus!" Michiru exclaimed in partial worry and surprise.

"Oh, so you had a friend to protect you? No matter, I'll easily take care of her too!" The monster sent out several thorny vines at Uranus, who managed to dodge them. The monster next sent out a giant pink flower, which Uranus dodged too slowly. The flower pinned her to a nearby tree and started sucking out her energy.

"Uranus!" Michiru cried out.

"Now I'll take both hers and yours!" The monster laughed.

"Damn you! Leave my friend alone!" Michiru screamed in rage and managed to break her restraints.

"Scary!" The monster commented nervously. Michiru pulled out her pen and promptly transformed into Sailor Neptune.

"How dare you attack my friend!" Neptune yelled, kicking the monster down to the ground. The flower wilted and dropped to the ground, freeing Uranus. "I know we had a fight, but it was silly, and we manage to get along swimmingly the rest of the time, so who cares? Deep Submerge!" She fired her attack on the monster, her rage fueling the attack and making the monster vanish, along with all her vines and flowers. Neptune looked over at Uranus, who had fallen to her knees. "Uranus!" She ran over to her.

"Neptune!" Uranus struggled to get up, eventually falling back down on her knees. Neptune kneeled down next to her. "She took too much of my energy..." She explained weakly. "But the important thing is...you really do care about my feelings?"

"Why would I not? It was stupid of me to bring those girls to you and parade your image around school. I won't do it anymore without your permission. After all, we're friends, and partners, and we shouldn't break that up over a stupid fight." Neptune smiled.

"I know it's cheesy to say, but I hope we'll be friends forever."

"Oh, I hope so too!" Neptune smiled wider and hugged Uranus, knocking her down to the ground. She simply kept hugging her.

"Neptune..." Uranus said, making Neptune stop hugging her. "I think you're going to have to carry me home..."

"I don't think I'm strong enough..." Neptune laughed nervously. "But it's worth a try!"

############

The next night was Michiru's violin concert, which Haruka saved the date for. She was performing in an auditorium, which was a change of pace from the place she performed before. Haruka sat near the front and looked around for a tip jar, but couldn't find one. She sat still while she waited for the actual show to start. It took a while, but soon the place filled up and Michiru stepped onto stage, wearing the same white dress. The lights dimmed and she started playing, the sad-sounding melody filling the place. Haruka simply listened to it, hoping the music would transport her somewhere else, but she found herself distracted by the couple whispering next to her.

"She's such a pretty girl! Do you think she has any friends?" The girl asked happily.

"No, she's a violin player. They're destined to be alone and sad. Besides, look at the iciness in her eyes. A girl with such a cold temper would only scare away people. Such a shame, she's so pretty, the boys would instantly be spellbound by her..." The boy said simply.

"Yeah. now that you mention it, her eyes do scare me...they're so cold..." The girl hugged the boy's arm. Michiru glanced over at them briefly, then looked away. Haruka glared at them.

"Don't say such things about her! You don't know anything about her life, so just shut up! I bet people gossip about you two all the time behind your backs!" Haruka shouted at them, making people look over at her.

"What a rude young man you are!" The girl scoffed.

"I don't care what you think about me, just leave her alone!" Haruka promptly stormed out of the place, leaving Michiru alone. She kept playing, however, pretending like she didn't know her. The only thing that kept her going at that point was the promise of more tips.

Her show went on for a while, then she set down her violin and curtsied politely, making the audience clap. She walked off-stage and several people pressed money into her hands, and she smiled and thanked them. When everyone had left, she ran back into her dressing room and stuffed the money into her purse. She started to brush her hair when one of the composers came in.

"Excuse me, Kaioh-san?" He asked, and she looked over at him. "I don't mean to bother you, but an enormous sum has just been paid to you...it's about a thousand yen." Michiru's eyes grew extremely wide and she sprung out of her seat. She held her hands out for it, and he gave it to her.

"Tell me, who gave you this money?" She asked, trying to retain her calmness.

"It was this blonde-haired guy who said he knew you and then asked if I could get into your dressing room. When I said I could, he gave me the money and ran away before I could get his name for you." He explained. Michiru pressed the money to her chest.

"Haruka-san..." She whispered to herself.

"I'm assuming you know that man?" The composer asked, and she nodded. She threw that money into her bag as well. "Well, I shouldn't be here any longer than I need to be, so good luck, and use that money wisely!" He waved to her and left, and as soon as the door shut, Michiru screamed happily.

"Yes! I can finally get my own place!" She jumped up and down. "Oh, thank you, Haruka-san! I have to think of a way to thank you properly..."

###########

The next day after school, Haruka was walking home when Michiru threw herself into her arms. "Hi there, Haru-chan!" She greeted happily.

"Whoa, where did the nickname and honorific come from?" Haruka asked in surprise. Michiru let go of her.

"Ever since you gave that money to me last night, I've felt like I've been floating on air! You've made me so happy, but I must ask you, where did all that money come from?" She asked, a nervous edge in her voice.

"It's just some money leftover from my races. I don't have much use for money myself, so I just left it sitting around in my room. After hearing your dreams, I knew I had finally found a use for it." Haruka smiled, and Michiru smiled back. "How about I come over to your house today?"

"Sure, I'd love that! And I'm sure my aunt would love to meet you too!" Michiru walked in front of Haruka and started showing her the way to her house. "Also, call me Michi-chan. It only seems fair, since now I call you Haru-chan."

"That sounds too girly for me, what if somebody in public hears you?" Haruka teased.

"Then you'll become my Haruka-kun." Michiru teased back.

Soon they reached Michiru's apartment and she pulled Haruka inside. "I live on the top floor." She explained, starting up the large staircase. Haruka followed her and kept walking until Michiru let herself into a room on the side.

"Aunt Misa,I'm home!" Michiru called out, pulling off her shoes.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Her aunt called back, and Michiru ran into the kitchen and leaned over the counter.

"Guess what, Aunt Misa? I brought home that friend I was telling you about!" Michiru said.

"Really? She must be the reason why you come home so late!" Misa scolded, not bothering to look over at her niece. She kept stirring a pot of something on the stove. Michiru leaned over further on the counter right when Haruka came into the room. She suddenly found herself staring at Michiru's backside, which was in the air due to her position. She eventually looked away and cleared her throat to get their attention.

"This is her. Aunt Misa, say hello to my friend Haru-chan!" Michiru smiled, walking over to Haruka and standing beside her. Misa looked away from her food briefly to look at her.

"She's very...masculine." Misa offered nervously. Michiru's grin faded.

"Auntie!" She scolded. "I can assure you that she's a girl, and possibly more feminine than you could imagine! She knows how to play the piano!" Michiru stated, making Haruka glare at her slightly.

"Piano-playing? How nice! My niece can play the violin, did she ever tell you that? You two should do a duet." She went back to stirring her food. "There's a piano in the living room. You should play us something." Michiru agreed and pulled Haruka into the living room. She sat her down on the piano bench.

"Please play something? For me?" She asked nicely. "If you can't remember anything, just do some scales or random notes."

Haruka chuckled. "You seem awfully eager to hear my terrible playing. Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." She stretched and started playing a short melody she knew but couldn't remember the name of. It was the both the first song she learned and mastered on the instrument when she started taking lessons four years ago, and she amazed herself by how much she could remember it. It was a simple but sad melody, and Michiru put her hands on her heart when she heard it.

"Haru-chan..." She gasped, and Haruka simply smirked at her. "You're an amazing player! This song is so beautiful!" She gushed, then suddenly ran over to her bookbag and pulled out her violin. A simple snap of the clasps and out came her violin. She crossed her ankles and started improvising on the melody with her, closing her eyes and focusing on the sound of the piece. Eventually they managed to create a pretty melody together, and near the end Michiru opened her eyes slightly.

_This is it...this shall become our melody of love..._ She thought to herself, then gasped and looked over at Haruka. She had her eyes closed and seemed entirely consumed by the melody. Michiru noticed how finely-manicured her nails were, despite not actually being painted. And was that lip gloss she had on? She smiled a bit; maybe her Haru-chan was more girly than she initially let on to.

Soon the song ended and Michiru lowered her violin, watching Haruka crack her knuckles after playing the piano and look around the room.

"You are a good violin player." She said simply, nodding. Michiru felt her face heat up in a blush before she could stop herself, looking away.

"But you already knew that. Haven't you been to my concerts?" She teased lightly despite her red face.

"I don't think I have, actually. But if you'd hook me up with tickets..." She continued before Misa walked into the room, looking at the two.

"The food is ready now," She said simply, ushering Michiru into the kitchen after she put away her violin. Michiru gently kneeled down in front of the small table, keeping her hands folded in her lap, a gesture she noticed Haruka seemed uncomfortable with, for just a brief second before returning to her normal expression.

After thanking for the food, Michiru started to eat calmly, not looking at Misa, who was sitting across from her.

"Did you two meet in school?" She finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes, actually. One of my friends introduced us. She thought the two of us would get along," Michiru answered softly. "Though we've had some difficulties in our friendship, I still think it's strong,"

"Yes. I was thinking of going to one of her concerts. And the two of us have gone out riding on my motorcycle," Haruka finally spoke up, not having touched her food at all.

"You rode on a motorcycle." Misa stated, glaring at Michiru. "Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are? What if you had gotten hurt? Did you wear a helmet?"

"Yes, she wore a helmet. I would never let someone else ride on it without one," She frowned as well.

"When you move out, then you may do things like that. But you are my niece, and under my roof, you will still listen to me and do as I say." Misa had a note of finality in her voice that made Michiru clench her skirt underneath the table angrily.

She could move out. She had the money for it. Yet the words just wouldn't form in her mouth. So instead, she looked over at Haruka. "Haru-chan, why don't I walk you home after we eat? I don't think I have ever seen your house before, and I'd like to see it!" She said genuinely.

That too made Haruka seem uncomfortable, but only for another second. "I'd rather go home by myself. It's a really confusing road to people who haven't been down it before. I'd prefer if I just went alone."

"I'm not hopeless with directions, Haru-chan!" Michiru teased lightly. "I can figure it out myself,"

"No. In fact, I probably should be getting home." Haruka stood up and gathered up her things. "Thank you for the meal, Misa-san. I must be going," She explained in a rush, hurrying out of the house. Michiru pouted lightly at her reaction.

"I just wanted to see her house..."

##########

The next day after school, Michiru waved to Haruka as she started to head back to her own place, only to turn around and stare at her as she walked away, getting a determined look on her features. She had longed to see her partner's home for a while now and Haruka's stubbornness would do little to deter her; in fact, it would only make her even more curious.

Once Haruka was a good distance away, Michiru snuck after her, quickly ducking and hiding behind several buildings and trees and once even a car everytime she felt certain Haruka had turned around. She wasn't quite as fast as Haruka was, so she was afraid of getting caught before she had a chance to properly run away.

She continued to follow after her until she reached the richer part of the city, marble-white mansions lining the streets. She stopped, faltering. Haruka was rich? It made sense, to some degree, but she couldn't recall her ever mentioning a detail like that in their conversations. She took a few more steps, watching as Haruka paused in front of a smaller white house, a black fence set up in front of it. Haruka seemed to hesitate for a moment, but instead of going inside of it, she instead walked off, getting inside a black sports car and speeding off. Michiru blinked, straightening herself up.

What had just happened? Was that Haruka's house? If so, why didn't she go inside? She then frowned. There had to be more to the puzzle than she could figure out.

And she would figure it out.

###########

"Hello there, Haru-chan!" Michiru greeted, spotting Haruka sitting on a bench after school in the park. She hid her briefcase behind her back and bent over, trying to make herself look cuter. Haruka briefly looked up at her, then looked back down at her book, returning to her reading. Michiru simply sat down next to her, placing her briefcase in her lap. She unclasped the snaps and pulled it open, revealing several thick pieces of parchment on top of her schoolwork. She pulled one of them out, along with a pen, and started to sketch, darkening some of the lines on her current project as well as filling in some others. She used her briefcase as a makeshift stand.

Eventually, Haruka got curious and glanced over, wanting to see what she was working on.

"It's a new project of mine," She answered, jumping as Michiru had seemingly read her mind. "Not of you though," She spun it around to show her, revealing it was a portrait of a mermaid doused in sea-green, resting on a rock and listening to a conch shell. Her curly hair blew in the wind.

"Is that supposed to be you?" Haruka tried to tease, hiding how impressed she was with the project. Michiru simply smiled slowly.

"I've found real people to be much better sources of inspiration," She went back to work on the drawing, not saying anything else for a while.

Haruka managed to finish two chapters of her book before Michiru spoke up again, this time staring at her intently.

"Haru-chan..." She begun, a light breeze blowing past and ruffling her uniform bow and hair. For once, she made no attempt to fix either. "Haru-chan." She restated, this time firmer. She moved closer to Haruka. "Do you love me?"

Haruka blushed heavily at the question, clearing her throat quickly to get rid of the embarrassing heat. She looked away.

"Well?" Michiru persisted.

"...Do you?" Haruka looked back at the teal-haired girl, trying to sound more forceful. Michiru simply nodded, no sign of humor in her face.

"Of course I do. I have loved you for quite some time now, Haru-chan. I do not care if it is wrong or immoral. I do not care if I am going to Hell for it." She grabbed Haruka's hands and squeezed them. "You are the one I love, I'm sure of that now,"

Haruka swallowed nervously, giving her a slow but steady nod. "I...I love you as well." She stared into her eyes. "I'm not very familiar with how these things normally work, but...I know I love you too. It's almost as if-"

"We were destined to be together," Michiru finished for her, moving in closer and kissing Haruka softly on the lips. Haruka's eyes widened, unsure of what to do. They tightened their grip on each other's hands, kissing deeper. After a few seconds, they both parted and simply stared into each other's eyes, refusing to speak and break the romantic aura forming around them.

##############

"This place is beautiful, Haru-chan!" Michiru gushed happily, running around her new place.

Ever since Haruka had given the amount of money she needed, Michiru spent no time at all packing up and getting everything ready to leave her aunt's place. The house she picked was really an apartment penthouse, even complete with an indoor pool.

"I am glad you like it, Michi-chan," Haruka responded, standing in the doorway, her hands in her pockets. She grinned as she watched how happy Michiru seemed to be, all because she bought a new house.

"I don't think I have enough things to fill it up with...which means lots of shopping," Michiru explained, walking back over to Haruka.

"It's your place. You can do whatever you want with it," Haruka took her hands, making Michiru smile.

"I can't wait to fill it up with my paintings then," She walked over to one of the boxes, ripping the tape off it and pulling it open, taking out one of the paintings that used to hang in her old bedroom. She placed it next to where she was thinking a bookshelf would go, contemplating it.

"It's nice you have a place of your own now, though," Haruka continued. Michiru looked over at her. "You could do whatever you want and not have to worry about your controlling aunt,"

"True..." Michiru looked down at the ground.

"A place of your own...I wonder what that's like..." Haruka continued in a very low tone of voice. She then snapped to attention. "I want to show you something. Tomorrow, after school."

Michiru nodded. "Of course!" She walked over to Haruka, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Now can you please help me with some of the heavier things?"

#########

Michiru waited for Haruka after school ended, just as she said she would. The temperature had dropped significantly recently, so her sleeves and skirt had gotten longer; a heavy petticoat and white tights were also under her skirt. She perked up once she saw Haruka walking over to her, her hands in her pockets like usual.

"I want to show you something," She repeated, looking away from Michiru. The smaller girl held out her hand for the blonde to hold, but she ignored it, walking ahead. Michiru frowned and continued after her, finally able to catch up to her long and fast strides.

The two walked in silence for a bit, walking past the rich neighborhood and into the busy commercial zones beside it; which were all abuzz with activity. Michiru looked around in confusion, since she had thought Haruka lived in one of the fancy mansions. She kept her mouth shut, however, and continued following Haruka, stopping only when she did in front of the black sports car.

"What I show you, you can't tell to anyone else. Ever. Understand?" Haruka suddenly gave her a glare that nearly froze her to her core, but she stood up straight and nodded. "I mean it, Michi-chan,"

"And I mean mine. I won't tell a soul," She nodded firmly.

Haruka slowly opened up the door of the car, sweeping her arm around in a mock welcoming gesture for Michiru. "Welcome to my humble home. Make yourself at home," She recited bitterly.

Michiru blinked, crawling inside the car before it suddenly dawned on her.

"Haru-chan..." She breathed, settling herself in the backseat. A lot of trash and wrappers were scattered about in the car, along with old items of clothing. Still, it didn't have the smell one would expect; it instead smelled of a car wash. "Don't tell me,"

"I live in my own car," Haruka blurted out, making no move to get in after her. "Look at me, Michi-chan. Do I look like the kind of person who seems like they have everything figured out?"

Michiru continued to look around the car, trying her hardest to keep her feet up and off the floor as she looked. She checked in the passenger seat and found a small golden portrait sitting there, and she picked it up and looked at it, curious.

The portrait was of a stiff and unsmiling teenage girl with long, curly blonde hair, not too different from Michiru's own current style. It was easy to tell in the picture she had been wearing a very frilly, flouncy, pink dress with her curls all draped neatly on her shoulders, a pink headband in her hair.

"Y-Your sister...?" Michiru asked, though a small voice inside her told her she already knew the true answer.

"No." Haruka shook her head. "That's me, from a year or so ago. My family...they're very strict and traditional. Suffocatingly so. Everything in their little world has to be perfectly perfect. Of course, someone like me...didn't fit in in any sense of the word. Eventually, my parents got sick of me resisting and rebelling and threatened to kick me out if I didn't start obeying them."

"They didn't," Michiru set the picture down.

"They didn't. I chose to leave on my own. I had my car, I had the money from my races, I knew I could make it work somehow. I've been living like this for the past year now," Haruka shrugged. "I don't mind it, really. It gives me the sense of freedom I've always craved for most of my life,"

Michiru pulled herself into the passenger seat, leaning back slightly.

"Of course, I had to cut my hair. Too hard to keep up a style like that in this sort of lifestyle, plus...I wanted to sever the last link to my old lifestyle. It was one of the last things I did. And the way I dress is to hide my true identity in case my parents decide they want me back and send someone after me. After all, they'd be looking for a daughter, not a son," Haruka continued, leaning against her car. She glanced down at Michiru, and much to her surprise, she saw her eyes sparkling in the light. She was trying not to cry. "That's why I worked so hard to get you out of your aunt's place. I was so afraid of something like that happening to you,"

"Haru-chan..." Michiru finally breathed in disbelief, running her hand down Haruka's cheek. "You can come live with me. Stop running away from all of your problems. We can start over, together. Be a family, together," She pulled Haruka closer to her and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. "I promise that to you,"

"Michi-chan..." Haruka smiled at her. "I stopped running away from my problems the day that I met you,"

###########

Haruka soon moved in with Michiru; her car would be one of the many she would later become famous for owning. Michiru coaxed her to clean it out, and the two decorated and set up the whole entire penthouse by themselves. It was hard work for a thirteen-year-old and a fourteen-year-old, but somehow, they made it work.

The night after they finally finished, they checked the calendar and realized both Christmas and New Year's had passed them by, signaling how busy they had been. Michiru was disappointed by the news, but Haruka managed to reassure her and cheer her up by promising the next year, they would go all out and have a massive Christmas bash. They would invite no-one but party as if they had invited a thousand. They had the money and room to do so, after all.

The only small kink in the floor-plan was the fact there was only one bedroom, but the two made it work. They slept in the same bed.

And one day, after a particularly stressful day at school, trying to fill out high-school applications, the two retired into the bedroom and did a very different kind of sleeping; a pure yet awkward kind. They were young and innocent, and they would likely look back at their first time with embarrassment, but those thoughts never crossed their minds in that moment.

They had truly and fully become one, in mind, body, soul, and destiny.

They dropped the nicknames and honorifics entirely. For any other couple, that would've been seen as rude, but it only brought them closer. They had become inseparable.

##########

"Look, Haruka, a new Sailor Senshi has awoken," Michiru announced to Haruka one day as she walked into the penthouse, worn-out from racing.

"Hm? Really? Are you joking?" She asked, but Michiru shook her head. She pulled a newspaper off the kitchen table and thrust it in her face, showing off the headline. "So she calls herself Sailor V, hm?"

"She must be Sailor Venus. Do you think she is on our side?" Michiru wondered, lowering the newspaper. The headline photo featured a masked girl in a gaudy costume, her hair pinned back by a bow.

"No-one can know for sure. Maybe one day, our paths will cross," She took Michiru's hands, making her giggle. "Maybe one day, all of them will awaken,"

"I sure hope so," Michiru tried to escape from Haruka's touch, only to have her spin her around in a waltz and dip her, making her giggle more. "Haruka! I can't even leave the kitchen?" She continued to giggle.

"Not until I get my 'welcome home' kiss," Haruka teased, making Michiru giggle more. She gently kissed her, then she got released.

#########

"How does this uniform look on me?" Michiru asked curiously, holding the skirt out wider so Haruka could see. The two had recently been accepted to attend a very prestigious, yet secretive, private school known as Mugen Academy. Even the uniforms reflected this, as they were darkly-coloured and resembled Western uniforms more than their previous middle-school uniforms.

"It looks good," Haruka nodded, adjusting the tie on her own uniform. Michiru pretended to pout, walking over to Haruka.

"A new school. A new you. Nobody will know you here. Are you sure you don't want to wear the girls'?" She asked in a serious tone.

"No. I can't take that risk. Besides..." Haruka glanced at Michiru, smiling at her. "It's kinda fun to tease all of the girls who think I'm an attractive guy. In fact, I think I'm actually kinda starting to like it,"

Michiru rolled her eyes in slight annoyance as she went back into the changing room.

#######

"A new Sailor Senshi has awoken! This time, it is...Sailor Moon," Michiru announced as they hurried out of the penthouse to school. "Perhaps she is the missing piece. Maybe she's the one who is on our side!"

"Is she even in Japan?" Haruka asked instead, pushing the button on the elevator. Michiru nodded.

"She must be, if she can respond to all of these cases so quickly. Do you think we should find her?" She stepped inside the elevator, standing perfectly still and demure next to Haruka.

"No. I think she should come to us," Haruka responded as the elevator doors closed.

Michiru nodded. "I understand,"

#########

After a half-day at Mugen Academy, Michiru and Haruka decided to wander around the shopping district instead of returning straight home, wanting to see the sights. As they walked, they came across an arcade, making Michiru smiled lightly.

"I heard they have a new racing game set up there. How about you go give it a try, Haruka?" Michiru teased.

"Aren't you going to play it with me?" Haruka asked curiously, already starting to head inside. Michiru shook her head, tittering.

"I am not one for video games. I thought you would know that by now," She turned around and started to walk away. "I am going shopping for more lipstick. A new shade came out that I'm just dying to try. I'll meet up with you later," She continued to walk away, soon heading into the busier portion of the district. She found the makeup store easily and walked inside, smiling when the cashier recognized her.

"Kaioh-san! Always a pleasure to have you in here!" She gushed, and Michiru beamed.

"It's always a pleasure to come in here. You always have the best products," She wandered around for a bit, finding the display of lipstick and thumbing through them, trying to find the new shade. She soon found it, pulling it out of the slot the same time another girl tried to grab it.

"O-Oh! Excuse me...please pardon me..." The girl squeaked in fright, holding her hands in front of her. She had short black hair chopped into a bob and dull purple eyes, and she looked to be fifteen like Michiru, but there was something about her stature that made her believe this girl was just a very early bloomer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Michiru said simply, stiffening up slightly. The girl was wearing the same Mugen Academy uniform as her, except with black tights instead of the ankle socks Michiru herself wore. The girl didn't move from her spot, instead made herself content by staring down at the floor. "Look, there's another one," Michiru tossed the second shade of lipstick at the girl, who managed to catch it perfectly despite not looking. The girl blushed lightly.

"T-Thank you," She smiled kindly at Michiru, hurrying to get in line. Michiru got in line as well, watching the girl with slight fascination. She felt a dangerous energy practically pouring out of the girl, an energy the girl was obviously not aware of herself. As the girl started to leave, Michiru grabbed her arm, making her jump.

"What is your name? I am just curious since we go to the same school and all, yet I have not seen you in any of my classes," She whispered. "You even look to be the same age as me,"

"I-I'm an early bloomer...I'm only twelve," The girl responded nervously, confirming Michiru's earlier suspicions. "I'm Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe. I'm in the sixth year at Mugen Academy," She managed to worm her away out of Michiru's grip and bowed politely. "Sorry, but I really must be off. My father gets really upset if I'm not home by a certain time," She then hurried off, Michiru staring after her.

She quickly paid for her own lipstick and headed back to the arcade, walking inside breezily. "Haruka, it's time to go," She called out, noticing her lover chatting with some younger girls at the racing game. She continued to stand there, slightly annoyed until Haruka noticed her and hurried over, waving goodbye to the girls as the two walked out of the arcade.

"Did you get your lipstick?" Haruka asked smoothly as they walked home.

"I did," Michiru nodded. "Who were those girls?"

"Oh, just some junior-high girls I bested in that racing game. As expected, they found me to be super attractive and I decided to play up the illusion," She smirked slightly, while Michiru tittered.

"Oh dear, but then you'll be leading them on! Imagine how disappointed they'll be when they find out the truth!" She laughed again.

"What, that I'm a girl?"

"No," Michiru gently took Haruka's hand. "That you're all mine,"

Haruka blushed and quickly cleared her throat, making Michiru giggle lightly. The two then shared a quick kiss before they continued the rest of the walk home, two lovers bound together by destiny, truly inseparable.


End file.
